> Which animal has two sets of jaws?And the answer: moray eel. Credit: Zina Deretsky, National Science Foundation (after Rita Mehta, UC Davis)Living mostly in warm saltwater environments, the moray eel is an apex predator,best known for its two sets of jaws. The pharyngeal jaws are located in theeel’s throat. When the main jaws close on its prey, the second set grabs theanimal and pulls it back into its throat.Perhaps a little too closely resembling creatures straight out of a sciencefiction novel (or even horror), moray eels are fearsome predators that have beenknown to humankind for decades. Interestingly, the discovery of their feedingabilities is a relatively new one; recent studies using high-speed footage andX-ray videos have revealed these eels' remarkable jaw capabilities. Unlike othersea predators who use suction to trap and consume prey, the moray's large headhouses powerful jaw-closing muscles that deliver formidable bites. The sharplong teeth of the main jaws are excellent for gripping so that even if the eelsinks just a few of these in, its prey is trapped. The teeth on the pharyngealjaws are the final nail in an unbeatable hunting technique. Much like thecreature in the 1979 movie Alien, their second set of jaws extend from the eel'sthroat to pull in its prey. Moray eels exist in abundance in fresh and salt water across the globe. Thereare over 200 naturally occurring species of moray, with some even grow over 10feet in length! To watch the moray eel in action, check out the video below.